The present invention relates to a method for making submicron-superconducting powders and is especially applicable to powders of superconducting materials which lack sufficient ductility to allow the materials to be drawn into a wire.
Superconducting wires have been made in a configuration in which a plurality of superconducting filaments are embedded in a normal (non-superconducting) metal matrix using superconducting material which is relatively ductile. However, in the case of brittle materials, which includes all of the known high-T.sub.c (T.sub.c .about.15K) superconductors, this fabrication technique has not proved satisfactory. Presently, most methods for making conductors from brittle superconductors involve a process in which the conductor is fabricated into its final shape and then the constituent elements of the superconductor are reacted in situ to form the (brittle) compound. That method has been used, for example, to prepare Nb.sub.3 Sn and V.sub.3 Ga multifilamentary conductors. Alternately, the technique of the above-described related application involves forming the superconducting compound in the form of a fine powder and then drawing this powder (which is encapsulated in a tube of normal metal) to make the superconducting wire. Preferably, the submicron particles have a smooth surface and are generally spherical in shape.